Lot 463: Hoon Kwak (B. 1941)

Chi, 2004
Signed and dated 04 Hoon Kwak
Oil on canvas
48 x 35 3/4 in. (122 x 91cm.)

Hoon Kwak started using the title Chi in the 1980's. Chi (Qi) is the name given to the "universal essence," developed in the metaphysical discourse of the Confucian philosopher Zhou Dunyi as taiji in his 11th-century Explanation of the Diagram of the Supreme Polarity (Ch. Taijitsu shuo). The artist makes his works a kind of code for the forces that are active in the universe through a process of contemplation, dismantling and reconstruction.

For other paintings of the same title Chi see Hoon Kwak, exh. cat. (Seoul: Pyo Gallery, 2006)